One of the problems facing the United States is that a large group of people believe that no crimes were committed on January 6th. Jenna Ryan, the realtor/rioter who is now famous for saying that she wouldn’t go to prison until the judge handed her 60 days, says, “I did nothing wrong.”
This country exists in a surreal state at this point.
Readers who happen to be Facebook users may want to sign up for science and math quizzes in their feeds. The question at left is rare, in that it has no right answer.
Someone suggested Isaac Newton, which is reasonable.
I would say that physics started with the ancient (pre-Socratic) Greek philosophers. About 460 BCE, Democritus formed the atomic theory of the universe, which is exactly where we are today, i.e., looking for the building blocks of the universe.
Even earlier, Thales believed that it is Water that is the “arche,” meaning it is the matter of everything. This, of course, turned out not to be true, but it could be argued that it was a statement that pertained to physics.
Of course, this is from a western point of view; I have no clue what, for example, the ancient Chinese were up to.
Here’s an observation from neuroscientist and philosopher Sam Harris. At this point, I would estimate that a little over half of Americans, and probably 90% of those outside the U.S. agree.
As I like to say, it’s something you either get or you don’t.
That we live among tens of millions of people who think Trump is an honest and effective servant of the nation’s people is easily the strangest and most disappointing phenomenon I’ve experienced in my 66 years of traipsing around this planet.
In response to the question raised in the meme here, a reader suggests: Maybe the goals of “the market” go directly against our best interests as citizens of Earth? Just a guess.
I disagree; I believe that “the market” is completely indifferent to the well-being of the people on this planet. Note that the stock market is at an all-time high, but so is homelessness. It’s akin to what existentialists say about the universe, i.e., that it is coldly unconcerned about human happiness.
The problem with the market and the environment is not entirely insoluble, though. The moment there is a significant price on carbon, the difficulty vanishes. This means defying the oil companies, however, and that is where our troubles actually lie.
Virginia, a state that went for Biden by more than 10% less than a year ago, has elected Trump clone Glenn Youngkin (pictured) to the governor’s mansion on Tuesday, rolling back progressive gains, but more importantly, firmly establishing Donald Trump as the de facto controller of the GOP.
That most Americans are shocked and deeply saddened is understandable, but we must not let this defeat drive us into cynicism. The idea that our country is on the precipice of losing its democracy is profoundly alarming, but this must only embolden us.
The man is an idiot, to be sure, but he’s obviously correct here. There are places on Earth at extreme latitudes that already have longer growing seasons, and use less energy to provide heat in winter. There will also be a boom in tourist traffic in places that up until now were uninhabitable. There are towns north of the arctic circle that topped 100° F last summer. (more…)
I agree with this, but it’s easy to see where it could be a “hot button” issue with some parents, i.e., dim-witted ones. Even if the content of the meme here weren’t true, think of how fabulously impractical it would be to fashion a state’s curriculum after the mandate of parents. Should there be a vote as to whether or not to teach the Tulsa Race Massacre (aka the Black Wall Street Massacre)? Creationism as science? Climate change?
In our current system, the people elect school board members who in turn make decisions like these. This, of course, isn’t perfect either, as we end up with school kids in the deeply red states coming home with some extremely twisted ideas, often based on teachings that are simply false. Yet it’s hard to know how to improve on that, since constitutionally, decisions on matters like these need to happen at the state level (See the Tenth Amendment).
Question: While we’re on the subject of environmentally inspired Halloween costumes, how do you interpret this one?
Answer: Can be found at Clean Energy Answers.
Relevance: Note: Young people care deeply about this stuff.
Did you realize that nearly 90% of American businesses participate in some form of recycling? For most business owners, recycling is something they do to reduce the carbon footprint their business has. The key to having success with a companywide recycling program is getting the entire team on board. This will take some time and effort, but it will be worth it considering the amount of waste you can help to eliminate. (more…)
The existence of principled conservative intellectuals, people like Bill Kristol and George Will, is one of the key forces that are hard at work forcibly removing Donald Trump from the American political scene. Yes, there are tens of millions of unprincipled conservative boobs that still give Trump a measure of staying power, but, thank God, there simply aren’t enough of them.
Another power force is represented at the right, the sociopath who was recently sentenced to serve four years in a federal prison. 
It’s becoming clear that the election wasn’t stolen. Those who believe otherwise and break the law based on that belief are, one by one, being shuffled off to jail. The whole Big Lie is gradually eroding, along with any remaining credibility that Trump may yet enjoy.
